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Iraq

General Information about Iraq

Iraq, formerly known as Mesopotamia, is located in the Middle East and is bordered by Iran, the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. Iraq contains parts of the Zagros mountain range, Syrian Desert and the Arabian Desert. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow from north to south through Iraq.

Iraq has a population of over 26 million people. The official language spoken in Iraq is Arabic, though Assyrian, Armenian and Kurdish are also spoken. 97% of the Iraqi population are Muslim, either following the Sunni Muslim branch or the Shi'a Muslim branch. The capital and largest city of Iraq is Baghdad which is situated in the centre of the country on the Tigris River. Baghdad is the second largest city in the Arab world and has a metropolitan population of amlost 7 million people.

Iraq is rumoured to have contained the Garden Of Eden and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Babylon is opne of Iraq's most famous ancient cities. During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II between 605 and 563 BC, Babylon was regarded as one of the world's beautiful cities. Now all that remains are the ruins, including a large lion statue. The birthplace of Abraham, as written in the bible, is the Ur of the Chaldees which is one of Iraq's most impressive ancient sites. It was once the capital of Sumeria and has well preserved royal tombs, a ziggurat and buildings dating from 4000 BC.

Climate

Find Out About The Climate Of Iraq

The climate of Iraq varies from hot and arid in the lowlands to more wet and damp weather conditions in the north east, this is mainly because of the higher elevations in the north east. Summer in the lowlands begins in May right until Ocober with warm and sunny days. Temperatures during this period usually average around 35 degrees but can go as high as 49 degrees in the shade alone. Winters are are mild and last from December through to February. Summers in the north east begin in June finishing in September with dry and hot conditions. January is the coolest month in the north east with averages of 17 degrees and lows of -4 degrees. Iraq experiences a northerly and northwesterly wind in the summer known as the shamal, which is an extremely hot and dry. The shamal is at its strongest in the month of July. Rainfall varies from 40 inches in the mountains to 12 to 22 inches in the north eastern parts.

Geography

Geographical Information On Iraq

Iraq which is officially known as The Federal Republic of Iraq is a very large country set in the Middle East with an area of over 437,072 square kilometres which includes 4,910 square kilometres of water.. Iraq has a very small coastline of just 58 kilometres which runs along the Persian Gulf. The terrain of Iraq is mostly wasteland and desert and is more so along the borders of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. In the southern parts of Iraq the terrain is filled with reedy marshes with some areas being prone to flooding. The remainder parts of Iraq are mainly broad plains.

Iraq has two main rivers known as the Tigris and the Euphrates. The Euphrates originates in Eastern Turkey and is shared by Syria, Iran and Iraq and has a basin area of over 765,831 square kilometres and flows for a length of 2,800 kilometres. The Tigris on the other hand flows for 1,900 kilometres and was originally known as Idigina which means 'running water'. The highest point of Iraq can be found in the Zagros Mountain Range along the border of Iraq and Iran. Known as Cheekah Dar or Black Tent the mountain rises to over 3,611 metres.

Economy

Learn About The Economy Of Iraq

Oil exports is the main source of economy for Iraq and accounts for over 85 percent of its exports. Iraq went through some financial difficulties in the 1980's due to their eight year war with Iran which caused significant demages to their oil exports. Oil exports began to increase back in 1988. The agricultural industry in Iraq is rather low and only contributes to just five percent of the economy with the main produces being wheat, barley, rice, cotton, begetables as well as livestock. The industry sector on the other hand is the main source of economy for Iraq with petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, contruction materials and food processing being the most important. Iraq mainly exports crude oil, crude materials excluding fuels, food and live animals. The official currency of Iraq is the New Iraqi Dinar.

Must Explore would like to wish you an enjoyable stay in Iraq.

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